[11/19/12 - 08:46 AM]ABC's "American Music Awards" Rank #1 Non-Sports and Boost ABC to Season Highs on SundayABC spins the numbers for Sunday, November 18.

[via press release from ABC]

ABC's "American Music Awards" Rank #1 Non-Sports and Boost ABC to Season Highs on Sunday

Info on ABC's telecast of The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards, ahead of the regular press release.

Up against huge NFL-fueled competition on the evening, including a down-to-the-wire Sunday Night Football contest (Pittsburgh Steelers-Philadelphia Eagles) and an NFL primetime overrun-boosted CBS (Colts-Patriots), ABC's broadcast of The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards made it the dominant #1 non-sports net from 8:00-11:00 p.m. among Adults 18-49, towering over CBS by 55% and Fox by 70%. In addition, ABC's AMA telecast won its 3-hour time period over Sunday Night Football across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. In fact it was the #1 TV show of the night with Women 18-34, Women 18-49 and Teens 12-17.

· Despite the substantial competition during primetime, ABC marked Sunday night season highs with its coverage of the 2012 AMAs among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. The show scored ABC's highest numbers in the time period since the Emmy Awards in September 8 weeks ago - since 9/23/12.

· An estimated 25.0 million viewers watched at least some portion of The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards on ABC during its 3-hour broadcast - unduplicated Viewers 2+ watching 6 minutes or more of the broadcast.

Quick Take for Sunday, November 18, 2012
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Boosting ABC to Season Highs on Sunday Evening, the "AMAs" Post the Network's
Top Numbers in the 3-Hour Time Period Since the "Emmy Awards" in September

ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" Draws its Biggest Audience Since
Early March and Equals its Top Adult 18-49 Rating Since the Beginning of May

ABC's "The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards" Dominates its Non-Sport Competition in Adults 18-49 and is Sunday's No. 1 TV Show in Key Women and Teens

ABC's "2012 AMAs" Reaches an Estimated 25.0 Million Viewers During its Broadcast

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

With "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards," ABC posted season highs on Sunday night in Total Viewers (9.0 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/7).

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

Surging week to week to season highs in viewers (+23% - 7.5 million vs. 6.1 million) and young adults (+21% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.4/4), ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" attracted its biggest audience since early March and equaled its top Adult 18-49 number since the beginning of May - since 3/4/12 and 5/6/12, respectively.

"The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards" (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

Up against huge NFL-fueled competition on the evening, including a down-to-the-wire "Sunday Night Football" contest (Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens) and an NFL primetime overrun-boosted CBS (Colts-Patriots), ABC's broadcast of "The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards" made it the dominant No. 1 non-sports net from 8:00-11:00 p.m. among Adults 18-49 (3.4/8), towering over CBS by 55% (2.2/5) and Fox by 70% (2.0/5 - 8:00-10:00 p.m. average). In addition, ABC's "AMA" telecast won its 3-hour time period over "Sunday Night Football" across all key Women (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54), Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11. In fact, it was the No. 1 TV show of the night with Women 18-34, Women 18-49 and Teens 12-17.

· Despite the substantial competition during primetime, the "2012 AMAs" scored ABC's highest numbers in the time period since the "Emmy Awards" in September, eight weeks ago, with Total Viewers (9.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.4/8) - since 9/23/12.

· An estimated 25.0 million viewers watched at least some portion of "The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards" on ABC during its 3-hour broadcast - unduplicated Viewers 2+ watching 6 minutes or more of the broadcast.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 46% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2011.
More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 11/18/12.